Guide — updated 2026-07

What to Plant Now

Seasonal garden produce laid out as a specimen study: peas, carrots, squash, garlic and dill
Plate VII — the season's yield

There is no national answer to this question — the same week is planting time for tomatoes in zone 8 and deep winter in zone 4. Enter your ZIP code below and switch the view to "What I can plant this month" for a list built from your own frost dates. The seasonal reasoning underneath it is on this page.

Your planting calendar

Form GL‑6
Planting calendar
Crop Start indoors Plant outside Fall sowing Harvest from

Tip: print this page for a calendar you can pin up in the shed.

How to work it out for yourself

Two calculations cover almost every "can I still plant this?" question.

  1. For spring and summer crops: is it past your last frost? Hardy crops can go in weeks before it. Tender crops must wait until after, plus a week or two of insurance.
  2. For anything sown late: count the days from today to your first fall frost. If a crop's days to maturity plus about two weeks of autumn slowdown fits inside that window, you can still sow it. If not, choose something faster.

Look up both your frost dates →

Plant early: crops that take frost

These tolerate frost and can go in while the soil is still cold — often four to six weeks before your last frost date. Waiting for warm weather to sow them is the most common way gardeners lose a whole cool season.

ArugulaAsparagusBroccoliBrussels SproutsCabbageCollard GreensGarlicKaleLeekOnionParsnipPeaRadishRhubarbSpinachTurnipStrawberryChivesCommon ThymeGarden SageGreek OreganoParsleySpearmintSweet Alyssum

Plant late: crops that die at the first frost

These are killed outright by freezing temperatures. They wait until after your last frost in spring and must be harvested before your first frost in autumn.

Bush beanCucumberEggplantOkraPepper (sweet/bell)Pole beanPumpkinSummer squash / zucchiniSweet cornSweet PotatoTomatoWinter Squash (Butternut)Cantaloupe (Muskmelon)WatermelonBasilBorageRosemaryFrench MarigoldNasturtiumSunflower

Crops with a second, autumn window

These can be sown again in late summer for a fall harvest, timed by counting back from your first frost. Many taste better for it — brassicas and root crops sweeten after cold.

ArugulaBeetBok ChoyBroccoliBrussels SproutsBush beanCabbageCarrotCauliflowerCollard GreensGarlicKaleKohlrabiLettucePeaRadishSpinachSwiss ChardTurnipCilantro / CorianderDillParsleyCalendula / Pot MarigoldSweet Alyssum

The season in four parts

Late winter

Indoor sowing season for anything slow: onions, leeks and celery at 10–12 weeks before last frost, then peppers and eggplant at 8. Order seed now — the varieties worth having sell out. Full count-back chart →

Spring

Hardy crops go straight into cold soil. Tomatoes and brassicas start indoors. As the last frost passes, tender crops move outside — but stagger the plantings rather than putting everything in at once, so a late freeze can't take the lot.

Summer

Succession sowing keeps the fast crops coming — lettuce, radish, bush beans and cilantro every two to three weeks rather than all at once. Midsummer is also when fall brassicas and root crops get started, which feels wrong and is right.

Autumn

Last sowings of quick greens, garlic goes in for next summer, and cover crops or mulch go over anything you're done with. This is also the moment to write down what actually happened — next year's plan is only as good as this year's notes.

In frost-free zones (10b and warmer) the calendar inverts. Your main vegetable season is winter: lettuce, brassicas, peas and carrots all do their best work in your coolest months and bolt in summer heat. Warm-season crops are best timed to fruit before or after peak summer, since most stop setting fruit above roughly 75°F at night.

Common questions

What can I plant right now?
It depends entirely on your hardiness zone and the current month — the same week is prime tomato-planting time in one zone and six weeks too early in another. Enter your ZIP code in the tool on this page and switch it to "What I can plant this month" for a list calculated from your own frost dates.
Is it too late to plant this year?
Usually not. Count the days from today to your first fall frost, then look for crops whose days to maturity fit inside that window — fast crops like radishes, arugula, spinach and lettuce mature in 25–45 days and can be sown remarkably late. Add about two weeks to the maturity figure for autumn sowings, because shorter, cooler days slow everything down.
What can I plant in the fall?
24 of the crops on file have a fall planting window: arugula, beet, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, bush bean, cabbage, carrot among them. Fall dates count backwards from your first frost rather than forwards from your last, which is why they confuse people. Garlic is the outlier worth remembering — it is planted in autumn for harvest the following summer.
What can I plant in winter?
In most of the country, winter is for planning, seed ordering, and starting the slowest crops indoors — onions, leeks and celery want 10–12 weeks of lead time. In zones 9 and warmer, winter is the main growing season for cool-season crops: lettuce, brassicas, peas, carrots and cilantro all perform better then than they do in summer heat.
How late can I plant tomatoes?
Count back from your first fall frost: tomatoes need roughly 60–85 days from transplant, plus a couple of weeks of buffer for cooling weather. If that lands before today, a transplant will not ripen outdoors — though in a long-season or frost-free zone, a midsummer planting for an autumn crop is often the better one, since tomatoes stop setting fruit above roughly 75°F at night.